RPS Journal May 2020

~RPS

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OPENING

SHOT

A brave newworld WITH THE CORONAVIRUS

THIS ISSUE An ode to Italy from influential fashion and portrait photographer Mario Testino HonFRPS; an insight into how Tobias Houlton HonFRPS visualised the Griffin Warrior; and the power of flower photography

SUPPORTING PARTNERS

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pandemic continuing to dominate lives, and lockdown the new normal in many countries, photography has found ways to see beyond the confines of a deadly disease .

Our opening story this issue features just some of the imaginative responses from the photography community determined to break free of the physical limitations imposed on us all. From virtual tours of exhibitions, including Sugar Paper Theories on the RPS website, to online talks and workshops on websites and social media sites , photographers are sharing their skills and inspiration.

The RPS Distinctions team has launched a successful Face book

page, attracting 1,000 users in less than two weeks . Submissions at Licentiate, Associate and Fellowship levels are being assessed online, while one-to-one portfolio reviews using a video-conferencing platform allow potential applicants to show their work and talk about them in real time with a panel adviser.

Meanwhile, volunteers in the RPS Regions, Special Interest Groups and Overseas Chapters are finding new ways to reach out to lovers of photography.

'People are discovering the joy of imparting information without ever leaving home,' says Peter Hayes FRPS, chair of the RPS Distinctions committee. 'What we have learned is that people are hugely resourceful and more involved than ever before .'

This issue's cover story features the work of Russian-born landscape photographer Daniel Koran. Italy, where Koran spends some of his time, has experienced most acutely the devastating impact of Covid-19.

Italy also features in Honorary Fellow Mario Testino's new book Ciao, his deeply personal ode to the land of his grandfather .

We hope that Koran and Testino 's images in this issue help remind us of the beauty to be found in the wider world out there .

KATHLEEN MORGAN Editor

STAY CONNECTED

KEEP INTOUCH WITH THE RPS a\~~ '-!.)

Or~ontacttht:editor~it~yourviews

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VOL 160 / MAY 2020 / THERPSJOURNAL / 289

THE ROYAL PHOTOGRAPHIC SOCIETY RPS House, 337 Paintworks, Amos Vale, Bristol BS4 3AR, UK www.rps.org frontofhouse@rps.org +44 (0)117316 4450 Incorporated by Royal Charter Patron The Duchess of Cambridge President Dr Alan Hodgson ASIS HonFRPS Treasurer John Miskelly FRPS Chief Operating Officer Mike Taylor Director of Education and Public Affairs Dr Michael Pritchard FRPS Published on behalf of The Royal Photographic Society by Think Red Tree Business Suites 33 Dalmarnock Road, Glasgow G40 4LA thinkpublishing.co.uk EDITORIAL ENQUIRIES Editor Kathleen Morgan rpsjournal@thinkpublishing.co.uk 0141 375 0509 Contributing editor Rachel Segal Hamilton Design John Pender, Alistair McGown Sub-editor Andrew Littlefield Editorial auiatant Jennifer Constable Advertising sales

JamieDawson jamie.dawson @thinkpublishing.co.uk 0203 7717201

Group account director John Innes Š 2020 The Royal Photographic Society.

All rights reserved.

Every reasonable endeavour has been made to find and contact the copyright owners of the works included in this newspaper.

However, if you believe a copyright work has been included without your permission,please contact the publishers . Views of contributors and advertisers do not necessarilyreflect the policies o!The Royal Photographic Society or those of the publishers .

All material correct at time of going to press.

Circulation 10,963 (Jan-Dec 2019) ABC ISSN : 1468-8670

lhink'9 Cover From the series Kyushu Island, Japan, 2019, by Daniel Kordan

324 Mario Testino HonFRPS salutes Italy

290 / THERPSJOURNAL / MAY 2020 I VOL 160

342 Max Miechowski portrays park life before lockdown

CONTENTS MAY

2020

CONTRIBUTORS

EVERY MONTH

RachelSegal Hamilton (PAGE314)

A photography and visual arts writer, Rachel Segal Hamilton is a contributing editor to the Journal, compiling the In focus and Books sections .

She works for titles including The British Journal of Photography

292 I BIG PICTURE 'Circus love' by Stephanie Gengotti

311IBOOKS Titles this month include a study of collecting by Frazier King

295 I IN FOCUS A round-up of Society news and views

349 IEVENTS Online activities to fire the imagination during lockdown

308 1365 MONTHLY COMPETITION Some of the most popular entries on the theme of the unexpected

352 I DISTINCTIONS A love of flowers unites two photographers who have achieved success at Associate and Fellowship levels

Gavin Bell (PAGE336)

A former foreign correspondent for Reuters and the Times, Gavin Bell is now an awardwinning travel writer for the Telegraph and Wanderlust magazine

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An academic, author and journalist, Alain Elkann has a weekly column in Italian newspaper La Stampa. He is president of The Foundation for Italian Art and Culture in New York

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FEATURES 314 I NEW HORIZONS Let the Russian landscape photographer Daniel Kordan take you on a visual adventure

336 I RESURRECTION Tobias Houlton HonFRPS recreates faces from the past, including the Griffin Warrior

324 I VIVA ITALIA In this interview Mario Testino HonFRPS shares his passion for Italy

342 I REAL LIVES Meet a rising star of documentary photography, Max Miechowski VOL 160 / MAY 2020 / THERPSJOURNAL / 291

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Circus love

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In a nod to a seemingly lost era, circus worker Manon is seen here training her horse Luce in the Italian region of Emilia-Romagna during the summer of 2018.

Manon is a member of Cirque Bidon, a French company created in the 1970s by Fran9ois Bidon, which travels around Europe using horse-drawn caravans.

The image is from an ongoing project, Circus Love - The Magical Life of Europe's Family Circuses,

by Stephanie Gengotti. The photographer, of Italian and French nationality, describes the circus as 'study, design, blood and sweat ... the eternal search for something which just perhaps exists - or maybe not'.

Visit stephaniegengotti .com

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PAGE299

JOHN DOWNING HonFRPS 1940-2020

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APPETISING FOOD PHOTOGRAPHY

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A PERSONALPORTRAIT OF HERITAGEAND FAITH

News, views, competitions and online exhibitions

Photography

strikesback The coronavirus pandemic has sparked an era of innovation and engagement

.,

AS THE COVID-19

virus rapidly spread across the globe, cultural life seemed to shut down . Photography festivals were postponed , galleries and museums were closed, commissions were cancelled and projects paused.

But amid the turmoil of the last few months , preplanned events have been adapted so that they can go ahead in a virtual format, while other initiatives have emerged to connect, support and inspire photographers in new ways. We highlight a few examples. o

VOL 160 / M AY 2020 / THERPSJOURNAL / 295

IN FOCUS

EXHIBITIONS

LEFT AND RIGHT

Before the lockdown, distance might have prohibited many people seeing exhibitions across the UK - or the globe. Now with their physical spaces shut, a great number of galleries have made the switch online , offering shows , print sales , art events and virtual tours.

Among many gems you can find the Tate Modern Andy Warhol show , and from RPS House, Jack Latham's Sugar Paper Theories and the International Photography Exhibition 162. See pages 312 and 349 for more .

Visit tate.o rg.uk and rps.org/resources

RANKIN'S PHOTO PROMPTS PREVIOUSPAGE

Instead of releasing new content, leading fashion photographer Rankin HonFRPSsets a new photography challenge each week via his online magazine Hunger . His mantra? 'Boredom is the key to creativity .'

Visit hungertv .com

SOCIAL MEDIA TAKEOVERS When Francesca Genovese's priorities shifted to homeschooling, the director of the Francesca Maffeo Gallery had limited time to develop her gallery 's social media presence - so invited photographers to showcase their work on Instagram.

'My hope was that by opening the platform it would give artists a space to grow their audience ,' she says .

Genovese has also launched a print collection, PAUSE,with work by Jennifer Pattison and Trish Morrisey, and is running Live Connections , a series of Instagram talks .

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TALKS Publishers STANLEY/ BARKERlaunched a series of 'fireside chats ' with photographers on Instagram, while MACKkicked off MACKLive with a livestreamed talk from Jason Fulford and a tour of Paul Graham's bookshelf.

Magnum Photos' 'Quarantine Conversations' sees two photographers randomly paired up for a live-streamed discussion.

LOCKDOWN PORTRAITS BELOW

'Self portrait',

1986,by Andy Warhol

RPSmember Richard Hall, who is studying photography at Lincoln College,made 125 portraits in just two weeks after contacting the Facebook group of Caythorpe, Lincolnshire and offering to photograph fellowvillagers on doorsteps and in allotments.

'The response has been remarkable ,' he says.

VIRTUAL

COMMUNITIES A wealth of online communities have launched in response to the pandemic.

The RPS Distinctions ••official Group••. a forum for anyone seeking advice about the Society's prestigious qualifications, attracted more than 1,000 members in two weeks.

The Photographers' Network has been launched by 1854, the publisher behind The British Journal of Photography and Portrait of

Britain. It's one of many new online communities that have sprung up .

Landscape photography platform Of the Land and Us has a Face book group dedicated to photographers looking for feedback from their peers, while Creative Boom has launched chat . creativeboom.com , a forum for people working across the creative industries to share experiences and tips .

ONUNE TEACHING GUIDE They are tutors for the London College of Communications online documentary photography and photojournalism MA. So when UK universities and colleges closed, Lewis Bush and Paul Lowe decided to share their skills virtually .

'The sudden switch online could be really good for education but one of my concernsisthatinthe rush , people have bad experiences which put them off online teaching for good,' says Bush .

'We hoped we could help

people dodge some of the common pitfalls .'

Bush, who was already running workshops from his London studio , is now teaching them digitally.

Visit lew isbush.com and arts .ac .uk

VOL 160 / MA Y 2020 / THERPSJOURNAL / 297

IN FOCUS

WEB WORKSHOPS The Work -Show-Grow programme has moved online . Sessions include everything from curating a pop -up show to shooting portraits in the home .

'It 's become a real place for people to connect,' says Natasha Caruana, who runs the programme .

Visit work-show-grow .com

PHOTO LONDON

ACADEMY With Photo London postponed until the autumn, the UK's biggest photography fair has launched a digital academy . Included are an e-magazine , online conference and access to video recordings from five years of Photo London.

'Under a sky of glass 23/03/20 XVday#1'by Eleonora Cerri Pecorella

Visit photolondon.org

THEMASS ISOlATION PROJECT ABOVE

INSPIRATION SHARING ABOVE

Rose Teanby ARPSis posting on Twitter links to online collections of work by inspirational women photographers including Anna Atkins and Dorothea Lange.

See Twitter .com/roseteanby

channels by the 45 exhibiting artists.

This Instagram initiative from FORMATInternational Photography Festival and QUADcalls on photographers around the world to share their images of isolation by including the hash tag #massisolationFORMAT in the description . Selected images are featured on the @Massisolation Instagram feed .

'We want to know what people are thinking , feeling and doing at this extraordinary time,' says FORMATDirector Louise Fedotov -Clements .

The idea, initiated by Ireland's Gallery of Photography, has been adopted by institutions from Australia to Finland.

Visit facebook .com/ festivalcirculations, twitter.com/ fetartparis and instagram .com/ festival_circulations/

Visit instagram .com/ massisolationformat, instagram.com/mass_ isolation_ig and instagram .com/mass_ isolation_irl

STAY HOME(S) After the CIRCULATION(S) Festival in France was called off, the event's organisers came up with an alternative .

Every day for the foreseeable future they are publishing images on their social media

298 / THERPSJOURNAL / MAY 2020 / VOL 160

#Helived life on the edgeand to the full' John Downing HonFRPSwas a giant of photojournalism, writes Kathleen Morgan

.,

HEWASONEOF

the greats of British press photography whose four-decade career took him from the bizarre world of celebrity to conflict zones including Afghanistan and Vietnam.

Honorary Fellow John Downing MBEdied on 8 April, aged 79, after being diagnosed with terminal cancer in January 2019.

Speaking to Clare Harris in the April 2020 issue of The Journal, he said : 'I considered myself to be the eye of the reader,' adding that he had led a wonderful, exciting life.

Born in Llanelli, Wales, on April 171940, Downing began aged 15as an apprentice on Fleet Street before moving to The Daily

Express, where he worked for 38 years. Named Press Photographer of the Year seven times, he saw many of his images carried on front pages around the world. His subjects ranged from Diana, Princess of Wales to Mother Teresa , and from The Beatles to members of the Mujahideen . He was the only press photographer to capture the immediate aftermath of the Brighton hotel bombing of 1984.

Describing his early days as a photojournalist when he had struggled to find his own style , he said : 'When I started out I was as green as green. It was only when I felt in control of my camera that I could take my chances.' He honed his craft during his first foreign

trip, to Uganda, during which he was imprisoned in Kampala by the Idi Amin regime . 'I didn't have a flash in there , so I tried long slow exposures and it came off,' he said. 'The images were so much stronger - that was an epiphany for me .'

In the final year of his life, he expressed but one regret - that he had never seen some of his best work collected in a photo book.

To that end , his friends Tom Stoddart HonFRPS and Hazel Thompson approached publisher Colin Wilkinson of Bluecoat Press, who launched a crowdfunding campaign that hit its target in just six hours . The result was Legacy , published last autumn.

'He was an inspiration to many a young gun arriving in London with a camera during those halcyon days when being a Fleet Street staff photographer was a passport to excitement and adventure,' says Stoddart. 'He was loved for his generosity and his

mentoring of young press photographers in equal measure .'

One of these 'young guns' was Marc Aspland, now chief sports photographer at The Times and an Honorary Fellow.

'His photojournalism was almost ingrained in me as my parents took The Daily Express,' says Aspland .

'When I found myself rubbing shoulders with him, perhaps outside the High Court or at a photocall , he was always incredibly supportive, helpful and modest . Like many of my generation , and perhaps those that have followed, we all owe John Downing an enormous debt of gratitude .'

Stoddart adds : 'Legacy is a great testament to a man who lived life on the edge and to the full, but who never forgot who he was or where he came from.'

John Downing leaves behind his wife, the pianist Anita D'Atellis, his son Bryn, and granddaughters Olivia and Madeleine .

VOL 160 / MA Y 2020 / THERPSJOURNAL / 299

MYPLACE

By Alex Ingram

Valdeluz

300 / THERPSJOURNAL / MAY 2020 / VOL 160

What'sthe historyof Valdeluz?

After a new high -speed rail network was announced in 2004, Spanish construction giant Reyal Urbis invested $1.6bn, creating Valdeluz, a new town 37 miles outside Madrid. But in 2008 the financial crash hit and construction halted overnight. Of the envisioned population of over 30,000, just 197 arrived. Valdeluz turned into a ghost town.

Since then, though, life in Valdeluz has been on the rise and the population's grown to more than 4,000.

photograph it for the New York Times.I was interested in how people had adapted to living in this remote landscape, raising their families among this unfinished, still evolving world.

What were you trying to showabout Valdeluz?

What drew you there?

Whenever you [search online for] Valdeluz, the majority of the images you see show empty streets, half-finished buildings and abandoned construction sites. I wanted to focus more on the people who have chosen to live there and highlight the town's future.

Valdeluz has fought its way through some tough times, but has come out stronger.

I'd been researching Valdeluz for six months before I was to

Visit alexingramphoto.com

IN FOCUS

TOP SHOT

Feast for the eyes Japanese creative duo offer a fresh angle on food

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A collaborative effort by MAISON ONIGIRI, a Tokyobased creative team, this appetising image on the left was shortlisted in the 'Apple a day' category of the Pink Lady Food Photographer of the Year Awards. The category was won by Poland's Diana Kowalczyk for her picture 'Caramel lady'.

'Just like we enjoy fashion

by dressing ourselves up in our favourite clothes, we wanted to tell the joy of cooking and tasting food; says MAISON ONIGIRl's Eri Hosomi, who worked with his visual creator Kaori Yuki on the image.

K M Asad was named overall winner for the image 'After exodus', showing Rohingya children waiting for food at the Jamtoli Rohingya refugee camp in Bangladesh.

Visit pinkladyfoodphotographeroftheyear.com and maison-onigiri.jp

The elephant trap camera .,

BYJASON

SCOTT TILLEY AND JO GANE 'Looking for public engagement projects

in the run-up to Coventry City of Culture 2021, we commissioned cabinet maker Jamie Hubbard to build this based on

models of an Afghan Box Camera, with our modifications.

'It's painted in bright colours and, like all Afghan cameras, acts as a darkroom . If you're wondering about the name, it's inspired by Jason's grandpa, Bert Scott, a photographer in pre-partition India, where "The elephant trap" was the nickname given to large cameras.'

Visit photomining.org

MARILYN STAFFORD FOTOREPORTAGE AWARD An annual grant of ÂŁ2,000 for a woman photographer to complete a documentary photo essay. Free to enter, closes on 22 May. fotodocument.org/ fotoaward THE CURATED FRIDGE Every three months a guest curator sets a theme for an exhibition of photography - to be displayed on artist Yorgos Efthymiadis' fridge in Boston.

The summer call is open until 27 June. thecuratedfridge.com and lnstagram.com/ thecuratedfridge PHOTOGRADSHOWCASE Students graduating this year from a UK-based MA or BA photography course are invited to apply for this free open call. The best entries will be showcased on the Photograd website.

Deadline is 24 July. photograd.co.uk INTERNATIONAL GARDEN PHOTOGRAPHER OFTHEYEAR Run in association with the Royal Botanical Gardens at Kew, this contest is for anyone specialising in garden, plant, flower and botanical photography. lgpoty.com

VOL 160 / MAY 2020 / THERPSJOURNAL / 3D1

IN FOCUS

Simon HillFRPS

IN ONE RESPECT

he is the picture of tradition . A member of the RPS since his school days, Simon Hill gained his Licentiateship as a teenager, his Associateship while at art college and his Fellowship in 1991, just a few years into his career as a professional photographer.

Almost 30 years later, in September 2019, this award winning Yorkshire -based editorial photographer was elected a Trustee .

'I finally had the opportunity to give something back to the Society,' says Simon, who is also managing director of JANVS I VIDAR, a design practice for the heritage sector .

Now, as you will read in the EGMnotice on page 307 and in the President's VoiceBox column on page 309, the RPS Council is putting Simon forward , for approval by the membership , to fill the vacant role of President Elect, and in due course President. This is a particular honour, he says, at a time when the photography community, and indeed the world , is facing unprecedented personal , professional and financial challenges.

'However, even the most superficial reading of history shows us that such periods of danger and uncertainty can lead to creativity , renewal and a complete reimagining of traditional norms ,' says Simon.

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302 / THERPSJOURNAL / MAY 2020

Born in Derbyshire in 1964, Simon was first inspired to take up the camera by his father, an enthusiastic amateur photographer .

Throughout his photographic career, during which he has been published in

National Geographic, The Sunday Times Magaz ine

and on the BBC, Simon named BIPP Professional Photographer of the Year 2019 - has always been driven by an insatiable curiosity.

'Ogunquit Beach, Maine,USA'

by Simon Hill FRPS

'I love to know what is happening , why it is happening and who is making it happen,' he says.

Tm fascinated by people; their history, their life, and their relationships with the world and with each other.'

Before freelancing , Simon worked at the York Archaeological Trust, developing a specialism in archaeological and heritage photography that has continued alongside his

'Periodsof danger and uncertainty can lead to creativity,renewal and a reimagining of traditional nonns'

RPS members have their say Format, frequency and content in focus In a recent survey were made, besides completed by focusing on inspirational almost 900 RPS photography. There members, readers gave was an overall sense that their views on TheJournal, The Journal should be its format and the subjects careful not to include too that they would like to see much 'art' photography in future issues. and, while this is an interesting subject, ensure The survey showed nine out of 10 members features are relevant to read every issue of The ordinary members.

'As a person relatively Journal and feel that the publication is a key part new to photography, I of their membership. want to learn more,' wrote More than three quarters one reader, while another said the membership commented : 'Make it magazine helped them relevant to image makers and less of the "highbrow" feel connected to the Society, with 74% rating stuff . All recipients are on a different part of it as excellent or good. their photographic While most members thought the monthly journey, beginners to experienced, but all I frequency of the magazine was 'about want is a magazine right' a majority felt a that is interesting magazine produced and informative : less frequently but Another wrote: 'Please with more pages would resist suggestions to make be preferable. it more like a camera club In the survey #TheJournal newsletter .

79% described connects The Journal themselves as connects keen amateur members photographers, members withthe with the while 16%are wider world' wider world of professional photography photographers . in a challenging way, Of respondents, 68% [covering] the work of said they liked seeing professional [and] artist the work that other members create, and photographers across 86% enjoyed seeing the the world, including work of non-members . research and education, contemporary and avantInvited to comment on the magazine, some garde photography, [and readers suggested they the] latest technological work, including scientific wanted more content showing how images research and output : â&#x20AC;˘

editorial work , taking him across Europe , north Africa , south east Asia and north America. He has also designed many exhibitions and visitor centres across the world .

Simon describes the RPS as a 'truly unique institution - on the one hand a membership society that excels in providing encouragement and opportunities for its members, and on the other a learned society that promotes the art and science of photography to as wide and diverse an audience as possible.'

But in recent years , he has noted 'a counterproductive tension' between these two aims , something he is intent on reconciling. 'We must encourage a radical shift in

our sense of purpose ,' he says. 'We need to think and act differently . Our Society must become agile and adaptive, learn from our mistakes, and actively scale up for the success of today and tomorrow.'

His goals are clear: 'Increased education, participation and commitment ; increased creativity of decisionmaking and outreach; greater responsibility and accountability for the executive and staff ; increased self-esteem and empowerment for the members ; an environment to foster creativity, innovation and change.

'It is our collective task as members to forge an RPS robustly fit for purpose in this rapidly -changing 21st century .'

VOL 160 / MA Y 2020 / THERPSJOURNAL / 303

IN FOCUS

TALENT

The art of self-reflection This award -winning photographer is making a personal portrait of South Asian women in the UK and Pakistan 'My practice is all about me in some way; says Maryam Wahid. 'It's a reflection of my identity as a 24-year-old British Pakistani Muslim woman: Since graduating from Birmingham City University in 2018 with a degree project titled Women From The Pakistani Diaspora in England, Wahid has earned several industry awards including Magenta Flash Forward, RBSAand Argentea Gallery Photographic Prize, GRAIN Photography Award and BJP'sPortrait of Britain.

'That series literally changed my life; she says.

'It made me feel relevant.

Prior to this, a lot of

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photographs that were about me were never published or shown to anyone. At university I shot anything and everything that wasn't about my heritage and faith . I felt insecure and uneasy to show them to my peers and tutors, although these were essentially the things that defined me: Thanks to the mentorship of photographer Kate Peters and CEO and artistic director of Midlands Art Centre (MAC}, Deborah Kermode, Wahid's confidence continues to grow.

Last year, through a British Council and Arts Council England project, Transforming Narratives,

Wahid travelled to Pakistan, where she met her mother's family for the first time and shot a collection of portraits of women that will form the basis of her first major solo exhibition, planned for MAC in January 2021.

'I hope my photographs can inspire South Asians in Britain to pursue photography and express stories that are untold and underrepresented; she says. 'Photography gives me a sense of belonging, meaning and purpose:

Visit maryamwahid.com, transformingnarratives . com and macbirmingham.co .uk

NEWS IN BRIEF

NATURAL SELECTION A striking aerial image showing a group of crabeater seals relaxing after a feed has won Florian Ledoux the title of Nature TTL Photographer of the Year 2020 . The French photographer took the photograph at 4am while sailing in Antarctica .

Visit naturettl.com AWARD FOR LAIAABRIL RPSHood Medal recipient Laia Abril, named one of the Hundred Photographic Heroines, has won the 14th Foam Paul Huf Award for the first two chapters of her longterm project The History of Misogyny . The award is given annually to a photographer under the age of 35. Visit foam.org COVID-19 SUPPORT FUND Set up by the online portfolio platform Format, The Photographer Fund is offering hardship grants of up to $500 per person for photographers who have been financially affected by the coronavirus. Visit format. com/photographer-fund RESEARCH DISTINCTION Written applications are invited for the RPS Research Distinction.

Submissions can consider subjects such as how photography is understood in itself and as part of wider visual and artistic culture, how its history is recorded and preserved, and how it is taught.

Visit rps.org/qualifications VOL 160 / MA Y 2020 / THERPSJOURNAL / 305

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~RPS ROYAL PHOTOGRAPHIC SOCIETY

Notice of an Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) The Council of the Royal Photographic Society hereby gives notice of an EGM to be held on Friday 29 May 2020 at 11am BST

The general business of the meeting will be to approve the appointment of a President Elect of the RPS. This meeting will be held online by video conference. For further details, please visit rps.org/egm-2020

Distinctionssuccesses Congratulations to these RPSmembers Congratulations to these RPS members LRPS FEBRUARY2020 Robert Allum, Wokingham Nigel Bampton, Loughborough Brian Bateman, Horsham Martyn Bennett, Hereford Sanjoy Bhattacharya, Kolkata Gavin Bickerton-Jones, Attleborough Tim Clarke, Guildford David Cowsill, Lymm Andrew Darling, Leyburn Paul Feather, Gibraltar Tim Gilbert, Preston Diana Grant, Bordon Paul Harmon, Dundalk John Hayes, Poole Susanna Hoare, Truro Nick Hood, Dunfermline Jorma Ki:irkki:iinen, Kiuruvesi Andy Kirby, Dornoch

Julie Kirrane, Whitby Andy Mayson, Taunton Gary Miles, Malaga Sue Oakford, London Lynn Pascoe, Truro Geoff Poole, Llantwit Major Victoria Stokes, Chesham Philip Terry, Southampton Robert Turley, Leyland Mary Venables, Deal LRPS MARCH2020 Urs Albrecht, Switzerland Jan Arnold, Shoreham-by-Sea Amanda Burgess, London Les Cornwell, Buckhurst Hill Wendy Davis, Alton Andrew Daw, Dunoon Hilary Dickson, Farnham Will Dickson, Farnham Kevin Flanagan, Aberdeen Linda Gates, Andover

Isabella Hillhouse, Dunoon Atul Kshirsagar, Eastleigh Rob Lavers, Warwick Cameron Leask, Linlithgow Anthony Leech, Stafford Andrew Leonard, Elion Beimeng Liu, China Fengying Long, China Roger Marks, Maidstone Andrew Mills, Ipswich (Muriel) Ann Peckham, London Nicola Robley, Carlisle Fiona Smith, Glasgow Jennifer Willis, Belfast ASSOCIATE DOCUMENTARY FEBRUARY2020 Nick Akers, Norfolk Ron W Evans, Virginia USA David Fletcher, Hampshire Diana Lai, Hong Kong Brian Morgan,

Tyne and Wear David Shillabeer, United Kingdom Wolfgang Strassl, Germany Elizabeth Vaz, United Kingdom Danlei Ye, Canada Kwok Keung Yu, Hong Kohn ASSOCIATE FINE ART MARCH2020 Gus AI-Hassani, Aberdeenshire Kathryn Alkins, London Jennifer Baker, Devon Alan Collins, Hampshire John Foster, London Paul Herbert, Channel Isles John Henry Histed, Wiltshire Julie Holbeche-Maund, Warmichshire Thomas Cheng, Hong Kong ARPS EXEMPTIONS JANUARY 2020 John Cuddihy, Kilkenny

David Eales, Torquay Tracey Lund, Hull Joy Maxwell-David, London Grahame Smith, East Lothian ARPS EXEMPTIONS FEBRUARY2020 Kevin Day, Cork Richard Draper, Wiltshire Peter Graham, Lancashire Dominic Price, Oxford Ashley Rose, Dornoch Teresa Williams, Northamptonshire Mick Yates, Warminster ARPS EXEMPTIONS MARCH2020 Joanne Gower, North Humberside Kathryn Jago, Devon Shanette Savage, London Gail Timms, Lincoln FRPS FINE ART MARCH2020 Polina Plotnikova, Kent

VOL 160 / MAY 2020 / THERPSJOURNAL / 307

365monthly • • compet1t1on • winners Enjoy the most popular entries on the theme of the unexpected

SERVE THESERVANTS

By Spyros Gennatas LRPS I love her, she loves her dog she will not allow her to go on an escalator on her own, so that she does not catch her fur . It was an excellent opportunity for me to capture this image as we were going

up the escalators at Canary Wharf Underground Station in London .

T - that is her name is a Nova Scotia duck tolling retriever.

This image was shot with a Canon EOS 6D and a Canon 24-70mm f/2.8L USM lens, at 24mm, 1/125 sec at f/2 .8.

OUT OF OFFICE

By Alan O'Brien LRPS I have often thought that the bus shelters of the Western Isles would be a rich vein for a photography project. This particular shelter is a few miles south of Tarbert on the Isle of Harris and is particularly

well appointed, with a fully ergonomic office chair. I passed by a few times without stopping before I felt the weather conditions suited the scene.

The photograph was made using a Fujifilm X-T2 with Fujinon XF18-135mm f3.5-5.6 R LM OIS WR lens at 18mm, ISO 200, 1/150th second at f11,hand held .

IN FOCUS

GABRIEL DIDNOT ANTICIPATE THIS!

By June Poston I shot in Antarctica earlier this year. I was so privileged to photograph a pair of Minke whales circling a group of kayakers returning to their expedition ship . The opportunity to watch the whales, silently and gracefully, weaving in, out and under the kayaks was joyful and exciting. The kayak leader Gabriel was not expecting this spectacle!

This image was taken with a Sony alpha7111 mirror-less, but I only had a Sony prime lens to hand (FE2/28). Postprocessing, I pushed shadows more than usual to emphasise the Minke underwater.

ALAN HODGSON ASIS HonFRPS President, The Royal Photographic Society

VoiceBox

We're all in it together How the RPSis managing change in difficult circumstances

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Elect as soon as possible. I would like to take this opportunity to month makes . I wrote the personally recommend Simon last column on the way to to you as fitting for this role. a conference in Portugal . As I write After seeking legal advice on the this , we in the UK are , like others , best way to formalise this arrangement , confined to our homes .

I would like to start by noting Council have concluded that it is appropriate for RPS members to my thanks and appreciation for approve this appointment at an EGM. the patience and support of all Full details of the EGMprocess can our members and volunteers . be found on rps .org/egm -2020, or These are unprecedented times see page 307 for more information . and your backing has never been I ask for the support of the membership more important to us . as we conduct this I also wish to thank process under the staff of the RPS who have worked so hard to #Irrespective of difficult circumstances. adjust to new working Finally, I hope you the disruption, arrangements.rearrange all continue to stay events and implement well and enjoy your there is still photography. Staff new processes . This business and volunteers are is an unsettling time weneedto collating hints and tips for employees in all conduct' on photographic projects organisations and ours to conduct from home is no different. Several see rps .org for details . staff are now furloughed , I am spending my camera time and I would like to send special taking pictures of the sky over my thanks to them for their understanding home . The image of the moon shown and hard work. below, made during April, is part of Thanks also to our volunteers who an experimental series on aperture have been working on our behalf a little bit of fun . I made it using a to modify our membership offerings in Nikon D750, ISO 100, f/32 1/10seconds . the light of an ever-changing situation .

Online meetings and workshops are now taking shape and I encourage Go to page 302 to read an interview you to look out for these in emails with Simon Hill, RPS Trustee and and on rps .org, where search criteria nominee for President Elect have been added to help you find online activities.

Irrespective of the disruption, there is still business we need to conduct .

Following the resignation of the President in November 2019 it was my duty as the President Elect to take up the office of President until the AGMof 2021. This left a vacancy for the post of President Elect, and consequently as President in 2021.

Council propose that an existing 'The moon', April 2019, elected Trustee, Simon Hill FRPS,

by Alan Hodgson take up the position of President WHAT A DIFFERENCE A

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VOL 160 / MA Y 2020 / THERPSJOURNAL / 309

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BOOKS

-

DERELICT BRITAIN: BEAUTY IN DECAY

Simon Sugden AMBERLEYPUBUSIUNG (£17.99)

Self-taught architectural photographer Simon Sugden, who works part-time for a building company , capturesthe charm of derelict spaces, from empty mills to abandoned fairgrounds, asylums , schools and synagogues . Broken signage, peeling paint and rusty metal all give a sense of the former life of these spaces and a newfound eerie beauty reveals itself in their tatty textures .

KEEPER OF THE HEARTH

Odette England (Ed) SCHll.T PIJBLISIUNG (£55)

Unti t led, 1983, by Jerry Uelsmann

A tale of passion Reflections on an 'accidental collection' of prints THE COLLECTOR'S EYE A Photographer's View

of His Contemporaries Frazier King SCHll.T PUBLISIUNG (£55)

'Every passion is chaotic but the collector 's passion borders on the chaos of memories ,' wrote the philosopher Walter Benjamin in his 1931 essay 'Unpacking my Library '.

Photographer Frazier King's collection is no different . In 2010 FotoFest , the Houston-based photography and new media art biennial , launched The Collector 's Eye, a series of exhibitions about collecting.

Until he was invited to curate the second edition , King had never considered himself to be a collector, describing

.,

the 90 odd prints he owned as an 'accidental collection '. Most of these prints were made by fellow photographers, some of whom he came across while reviewing portfolios for the FotoFest Meeting Place.

Reflecting on the prints retrospectively, King realised they follow a single thread : they are all "constructed" images, the result of the photographer intervening somehow in the photographic process . Since that exhibition in 2010, he has taken a more deliberate approach to acquiring and curating his prints , although still guided by instinct.

Here King invites us to explore with him his engagement with the images, proving that , as Madeline Yale Preston writes in the book, 'Building a photography collection is an art form in itself .'

This year marks four decades since the publication of Roland Barthes ' Camera Lucida, where the great semiotician mused on the power of photography . Here 200 photographers , artists , writers and curators contribute images and texts inspired by a mysterious unseen photograph of Barthes' mother aged five, which he described in detail but didn 't publish in his influential book .

PICTURE SUMMER ON KODAK FILM

Jason Fulford MACK(£35)

Brooklyn-based photographer, educator and publisher Jason Fulford treats the photography book not simply as a way to present his images, but as an artistic medium in its own right. Sometimes playful, sometimes poetic, his photographs exist in relation to one another . Shot across the world at different times, together they present a distinctive vision.

VOL 160 / MA Y 2020 / THERPSJOURNAL / 311

IN FOCUS

WHAT TO SEE THIS MONTH

CHARLIE WAITE: HIDDEN WORKS boshamga]lery .com UNTIL10JUNE

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The renowned landscape photographer Charlie Waite has delved into his archive to uncover a wealth of previously unseen artistic images taken in Cuba, Japan, the USA, Morocco and elsewhere .

The silver gelatin prints, handmade by Waite in his darkroom, are also available to buy.

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rps.org The most recent edition of the annual RPStouring exhibition features an array of beautiful and experimental images by more than 40 photographers . Using techniques old and new, the selection includes images of orchards created using pinhole cameras made from apples .

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processgallery .art Take a virtual tour of the current exhibition at the Process Gallery in Maidstone, owned by artist Nick Veasey.

Viewers can 'walk' around the gallery and look closely at ethereal X-rays and cyanotypes

by Veasey, or ceramic works by Zoe Scutts.

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Inspired by Nalini, Arpita Shah's earlier exhibition about herself, her mother and her grandmother, Impressions Gallery's youth collective has worked with students at Bradford College to develop this digital project sharing their own intergenerational stories.

TheV&A vam.ac.uk/collectionslphotographs II NationalPortraitGallerynpg.org.uk/collectionslexplore II Magnum Photos magnumphotos.com II The NationalArchivesarchives.gov II The ImperialWar Museum iwm.org .uk/collectionslphotographs

312/ THERPSJOURNAL / MAY 2020 / VOL 160

HIRO: FIGHTING FISH harniltonsgallery.com UNTIL22MAY

0

Fashion and still life photographer Hiro brings his elegant, painterly style to this 1980s series of colour images of Siamese fighting fish. This is the first instalment in a two-part exhibition titled 'Hiro : Fish and Fowl'; the second part features black-and-white shots of male game fowl.

BEST SHOTS

OME 120KM EAST OF THE

Russian capital of Moscow lies a town called Shatura.

In the winter, when temperatures drop to minus 20 degrees, the trees are covered in a Narnia-like carpet of snow. There is a lake there that passesthroughtheturbinesofan adjacent power station and never freezes over. Instead, the water gives off a delicate mist that makes the place seem soft and magical, like something from a dream .

This landscape made Daniel Kordan the photographer he is today. Growing up here he would spend summers and winters running wild around the lakes and mountains with his friends and, from his mid-teens on, exploring the natural beauty of his surroundings through a lens.

'We had this shared hobby, photography,' he says . 'I had a medium format camera and experimented with a pinhole camera. We also had a simple scanner to scan film and process it.'

Having taken extracurricular art lessons since he was a small child, photography felt like a logical progression for Kordan. 'I had a really good art teacher who gave me a real understanding of colour and composition.'

Whether capturing a forest of fireflies in Japan, the salt flats of Bolivia or the icebergs of Antarctica, Kordan has an instantly recognisable trademark style characterised by soft light, low contrast and a colour palette in which pinks, purples and blues recur. He is in search of 'a touch of magic', he says . The starting point for this might be a remarkable location, but to achieve an ethereal quality he always shoots in beautiful light conditions, often created by fleeting moments of the day or season .

As for composition, 'It's not like processing or marketing, which you can learn quite quickly. Your vision, your eye, is something that you train for a long time. My strongest inspiration has been Renaissance painters, the Russian painter Aivazovsky's seascapes and

MOTONOSUMI INARI SHRINE, JAPAN,2019 PREVIOUS PAGES

'Here, in the northwest part of Yamaguchi prefecture, people walk slowly through the tunnel of 123 vermilion torii gates up to a shrine . In Japanese legend, white foxes

are semi-magical spirits revered for benevolence and wisdom, and associated with protection rather than trickery. They are the messengers of the lnari deity enshrined here.'

EAGLE HUNTERS, MONGOLIA, 2018 BELOW

'There's an annual festival of eagle hunters in Mongolia.

Thousands of people come and it's impossible to shoot so I asked the organisers to put on a smaller festival for just

our group. We photographed 25 hunters . They were very welcoming they set up a guest tent for us and we slept next to them, and [saw] how they live the nomadic life, and hunt for rabbits and foxes.'

'My strongestinspirationhas been Renaissancepainters,the Russianpainter Aivazovsky'sseascapesand Impressionistpainters like Monet'

31&/ THERPSJOURNAL / MAY 2020 / VOL 160

Impressionist painters like Monet.

Whenever I'm in Paris I go to the Musee d'Orsay, head to the top floor and just look at the Impressionist paintings there.

I don't just go there like a visitor but really study the composition, the colours and the light.'

Kordan's career trajectory began not in the arts but in the sciences. He studied at the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology (MIPT)and on graduating began an applied PhD working for IPG Photonics, developing lasers for internet telecommunication , although he left before completing his studies as photography had begun to take up more of his time and attention .

'I really don't regret studying science and I sometimes even miss it,' he says, adding that there are many similarities with what he does now. 'In physics you're always solving problems, trying to invent something new, and it's the same in photography you're trying out some new composition, travelling to a new place, doing something that nobody did before.'

Photography, for Kordan, has always been twinned with adventure. While at MIPT he worked as a mountain and climbing guide through a university club, always with his camera in hand. Today he is able to visit the incredible locations he does through his role as partner in o

GREENLAND, 2018 ABOVE

'For 15 years I've been running what I call my Red Sailboat Tour [off the west coast of Greenland, north of the Arctic Circle]. We have two red sailboats and we take pictures of each other .

'I planned this shot using an app called PhotoPills to

identify the time and location of the moonrise .

'Everyone was waiting there with their long lenses. It wasn't easy as the light was drifting and the boat was moving, and we had just five to seven minutes to capture it.

But we got it.'

VOL 160 / MA Y 2020 / THERPSJOURNAL / 317

BEST SHOTS

318 / THERPSJOURNAL / MAY 2020 / VOL 160

TEXAS,2018 LBPT

This is one of numerous cypress tree swamps in Texas and Louisiana. I normally go to quiet places like this with a small group of six photographers .

'The trees grow in the water, and in November they turn this orange and red colour . The water is very calm and sometimes it's misty in the morning . There are also alligators passing by. You sit in the boat and sometimes you just see two eyes in the water slowly moving along .'

VOL 160 / MA Y 2020 / THERPSJOURNAL / 319

BEST SHOTS

BARK EUROPA, ANTARCTICA, 2018

URAL MOUNTAINS, RUSSIA, 2016

ABOVE

BELOW

This vessel is normally used to train sailors. I convinced them to bring a group of photographers aboard for an expedition. This particular image was taken in the Lemaire Channel,

320 / THERPSJOURNAL / MAY 2020 I VOL 160

in my opinion the most beautiful place in Antarctica, with the highest mountains, many icebergs. It was a stormy day with huge waves, as you can see in the rest of the series on lnstagram :

To get to this particular place in Taganay National Park, I had to climb up to the top of this mountain.

Once I reached the summit I was between the clouds . When sunrise came it lit

up all the clouds.

As a student I spent every winter skiing and hiking in the mountains .

This image is part of the story of how I started out in photography .

That's why I love it:

o Iceland Photo Tours, a photographic travel agency founded by Iurie Belegurschi. Kordan's work as a photography guide takes him to Antarctica, Greenland, Patagonia, China and throughout Europe. 'It's not just a business, it's a passion ...and I like to see my students' successes.'

He also learns from them. ¡we have people from all over the world. They tell me about their local landscapes and nature spots and when I travel I am a guest in their house.' When it comes to discovering the best locations, nothing beats local knowledge, he says. 'Last year I was in Indonesia, about to have my

vacation there. On the first day I met a group of local photographers at the beach at sunris; they started showing me their pictures and I was off. It's like a chain reaction.'

Sometimes the tips come virtually, through Instagram, on which Kordan has amassed 1.3million followers . He had a slow start with the social media platform but now finds it 'super helpful', cautioning that it isn't in itself a signifier of success, but rather another tool at his disposal . 'We have lots of guests for the photo tours coming from Instagram but it also helps me to get connected around the world. I need to spend some time 0

UYUNI SALT FLATS, BOLIVIA, 2016 ABOVE

'This is a selfie I made in Bolivia.

It was one of the most amazing adventures.

'In February and March the salt flats are flooded and you can walk on this layer of water [around 4,000m above sea level].

'We got out of the car and there were stars everywhere above us, below us, it felt like we were in space on earth . It was disorientating .

You take a step and you almost fall.

This is a panorama, made of five vertical images.'

VOL 160 / MAY 2020 / THERPSJOURNAL / 321

BEST SHOTS

DAEDUNSAN, SOUTH KOREA, 2019

SOSSUSVLEI NATIONAL PARK, NAMIBIA, 2018

LEFT

BELOW

'You don't find many foreign photographers in South Korea.

A friend of mine, originally from the US, who teaches there

invited me to visit . The idea was to photograph different pine trees. Every night for eight days we would

hike for three or four hours to get to the right spot in time for sunrise and then hike back. It was a crazy trip but very special:

This place is like an open-air museum of dead trees.

It's spectacular for night photography because there

is no light pollution. I captured the colours of the star trails by using a lower ISO of around 800.

The Bolivia shot is ISO 4000. This is actually700 shots layered using software called StarStack:

'This place is like an open-air museumof dead trees. It's spectacular for night photographybecausethere is no light pollution' o answering all the messages but I often

PROFILE

DANIELKORDAN Russian-born photographer Daniel Kordan studied physics before embarking on a career as a landscape photographer. His distinctively ethereal images have earned him more than a million followers on lnstagram .

Together with fellow photographer lurie Belegurschi, he runs Iceland Photo

Tours, a specialist photographic travel agency, leading photography workshops in 40 countries . He also runs his own online landscape photography course

at danielkorda tutorials.com Kordan's clients include Apple and Red Bull, and he is an official ambassador for Nikon, Gitzo, Lucroit and Skylum.

find really useful messages with invitations to some spectacular places.'

Kordan compares his multi-pronged photography career to a Swiss Army knife . In addition to the photo tours , he runs online tutorials in landscape photography, and follows the more traditional routes of selling prints and licensing his images . Looking back on how far he 's come, he says, 'Even six years ago I couldn't imagine that I would be travelling to Antarctica every year. It's been a dream for me to go there since my early childhood . It wasn 't like it happened in a year. It's a constant experiment, always improving yourself and working nonstop.'

Visit danielkordan.com and instagram.com/danielkordan VOL 160 / MAY 2020 / THERPSJOURNAL / 323

RETROSPECTIVE

ou have an enduring fascination with Italy, evidenced by your latest book Ciao. Why?

When I was a young guy Imanagedtogetan Italian passport - my grandfather was born in Italy and was from Lavagna in the Liguria region. He moved to Peru with his family, and my father was born in Peru and so was I. It is thanks to this Italian passport that I've had the career that I've had.

As a Peruvian it was hard to travel freely through countries , and with the Italian passport I could travel anywhere at the drop of a hat. When I started my career .jobs happened at the last moment. I had to have some way of being able to go to Milan or Paris or New York overnight, and an Italian passport allowed me to do that, even though I had never lived there .

1

Who were you influenced by?

I was influenced by quite a few photographers - Newton, Avedon, Cecil Beaton. But I was terrible at copying others. I always ended up going to my own essence.

Which camera did you use?

I bought a Nikkormat in Amsterdam airport . As well as going to Rome to buy clothes, I went to Amsterdam to buy the camera, because they said you could go for a weekend and get a cheap camera at the airport when you left. I did all my pictures with that camera .

Even though London bas been your residence for 40 years?

My mother 's side of the family had an Irish element, so I am a real mix.

In London I like the fantasy, but in Italy I like the lifestyle.

When did you go to Italy for the first time?

In 1977I went as a tourist from London to spend my holidays visiting friends that had gone to study there . One was in Rome and the other in Florence . My second time was a year later , and then I went to buy clothes, because when I first lived in London I had brought my clothes from Peru and they were inadequate . I knew that in Italy you could buy clothes cheaply and so I went to Rome again. I remember the Jackie O' Club in Rome in the late seventies, and in the early 80s I started going to Milano, before I met Franca Sozzani.

PREVIOUS PAGES

'Simone Susinna, lschia', 2018

The interesting thing about that time period was that all the modelling agencies had this particular style of guy, very American , but this did not reflect my taste . Instead I looked on the streets of Milano and London for the people I wanted. Doing that made me establish my taste in who I would photograph.

I do, and I relate to Italians very well. I am completely Peruvian of course . But I feel something of my past , and when I'm in Italy I feel at home everywhere.

1

LEFT

What kind of pictures were you taking?

Do you feel Italian beyond your passport?

ln the 90s Istarted recordingthe fashionscene and the streets in differentcities Iwould go to

'Vittoria Ceretti , Amalfi', 2017

saw that Anna Wintour had given me some photos in Vogue in America and she gave me a story to do. She was editor of Per Lui and Lei at the time , and she started giving me work which took me to Milano often.

Franca Sozzani was to become editor of Vogue Italia for many years. How old were you when you met her?

I was 27 and not yet at all successful, but not long after that Franca Sozzani

In Ciao. are there pictures of that time?

The earliest is a bit later , in the 90s when I started working for Versace ; then for Gucci; then for Dolce & Gabbana. In the beginning of the 90s I started recording the fashion scene and the streets in the different cities I would go to. I did a lot of work in Italy through the years , and it would be impossible to put everything I have done in one book.

There were literally thousands of pictures up for inclusion in the book and we had to choose only about 140.

What did you want to show in this book?

It is a homage to Italy. I want to show all the things that I like in Italy, that make it so wonderful. Italy has that feeling of family, which I have come to realise is the most important . It has amazing food and holiday destinations, and many different levels of society live together in the same place .

What do you picture in the book?

There's a lot about people. People's behaviour in the street; the way they eat their ice cream ; the way they do their expressions with their hands; the way they enjoy life; the way they serve; how the waiters go walking down the street taking espressos and cappuccinos to the buildings around o VOL 160 / MAY 2020 THERPSJOURNAL / 327

RETROSPECTIVE

o them; how people live in the summer; how they can pack a boat with 100 people to share that moment of joy; how they celebrate weddings everywhere you go; and how people hold arm in arm.

There is a lot of friendship.

Do you also feature monuments?

Lots of monuments - they seem to be so important in the history of Italy.

Many cities in Europe were bombed during the wars and lost a lot of monuments, but Italy still seems to have a lot of theirs. I've always been amazed by the Fontana di Trevi and humongous monuments like that.

Normally you need space to see them, but there is only a little street that you can see them from . They're hidden, and they're built without any possibility of going back to look at them from a distance.

How did you give the book structure?

I decided to divide the book in three .

The first section I call In Giro, which is discovering Italy : the Patio di Siena, the houses in Tuscany, the canals of Venice, the streets of Milano and Naples, the island of Capri, the Aeolian Islands.

The second part is Alla Moda, because through fashion I started meeting designers . Madonna introduced me to the Versaces. With Carine Roitfeld I met Tom Ford when he was at Gucci.

Through the perfume Light Blue I met Dolce & Gabbana, and it was the first time I had done a TV commercial. Until then I had only done photographs.

chosen himself to be photographed as the last photograph after his couture show in July . He died soon after.

Was this before you photographed Diana, Princess of Wales?

The Diana pictures were shot in April and came out in August. She died at the end of August. How weird that I did Diana's last portrait and I did Gianni's last sitting, and she's wearing Versace in the picture. The Italians have a certain generosity, because in my museum in Lima, Peru, I have a room dedicated to the pictures of Princess Diana, and when I asked Donatella Versace if she could redo the dress for me she donated the actual dress that Diana wore for the cover of the Vanity Fair issue .

What is the third section about?

The third part is called Al Mare, [and is] dedicated to the fact that Italy is the most amazing holiday destination, the best ... beautiful sea , fabulous foods , lovely people and great limoncello .

'Thestory goesVersacehadaskedMadonnato do the campaignwith Avedon,butshe proposed me' I have documented the sea from Amalfi to Stromboli, from Isola dei Galli to Capri, from Palmarola to !sole Eolie, to Ostia near Rome.

What is your favourite Italian place?

How was Gianni Versace?

He was the first one to give me a couture campaign. When I gave him the pictures, he decided to dedicate a page that said: 'Versace presents Madonna

by Testino.' I was surprised because only the great are called by their surname . At the time they were Avedon , Penn and Newton.

Are you still friends with Madonna?

Sure, I know her. I did a lot with her.

I did her album Ray of Light and I did a cover of Vanity Fair with her first child, Lourdes.

She has an amazing eye and is a visionary . It was Madonna that asked me to shoot the couture campaign for Versace. The story goes that they had asked her to do the campaign with Avedon , but something had not gone well and she proposed me . I went on to work a lot with Gianni. I did the last shoot that he did, which was a really uncanny photograph because it was 13girls dressed all in black that he had 330 / THERPSJOURNAL / MAY 2020 / VOL 160

I love Naples . It has the right mix of a vivid art scene and it's on the sea so you can go on a boat, or you can go on the seafront on the passeggiata. It has amazing food: mozzarella! I did my first exhibition there, and I even chose to do the Pirelli calendar in Naples where they had never done it before . I love the mixture of people that makes it so magical, and let's not forget the history of Naples . I love Milano too because of the restaurants and people like Maria, the owner of La Latteria San Marco.

Milano was my formation .

In Milan did you and Franca Sozzani eat at the Torre di Pisa restaurant?

Yes. In my early years she trained me

how to run the business of fashion, how it worked and how to get what you wanted . She would give me a budget of $2,000 and say if you want to use that money to bring a girl from New York that is your business, but make sure you find all you need within that money.

It was a great way of training me . o

PREVIOUS PAGES

'Palazzo Colonna, Roma',2018 RIGHT

'Betty Bee', Napoli, 1997

RETROSPECTIVE

PREVIOUS PAGES

RIGHT

'Avola', 2018

'Amalfi', 2002

o Who else trained you?

Gucci and Versace taught me a lot, and companies like Missoni or Trussardi were also key for developing my multiple styles . Photographers usually have one style, but I realised I was excited by many different styles . I could do Versace one day , Cavalli the next , Gucci the next and Missoni the next .

I was excited by tapping into different people's DNAand defining it.

Is the fashion world over for you now?

I've done it for 40 years and the world of fashion has changed drastically.

Somebody said to me they went to the shows and didn't know anybody . People have moved on. When I was in fashion a company needed six images for their campaign for the whole season . Now they need 100 images, because they have Instagram, social media , shops with films, and photographs for advertising and billboards.

What did the internet change?

The internet shifted the power from magazines to bloggers and influencers.

By the time the magazine comes out we have seen it all online .

Do you put work on Instagram?

Yes, I have an account on Instagram and I have 3.8 million followers. I put up mainly what I'm working on now but sometimes I look at what I did in the past. I started the Towel series especially for Instagram, where everybody was photographed with only a towel, and in the book we have a picture of [Italian model] Bianca Balti from that series.

Why do a book and not put on a show?

A book is something that stays, that people can look at many times , and get inspired [by] and discover, whereas a show has a short life and is transient.

Is Italy one image?

Italy is a thousand images , but, then again, together they make one .

Ciao by Mario Testino is published

by Taschen at ÂŁ60.

Visit taschen.com and mariotestino. com 334 / THERPSJOURNAL / MAY 2020 / VOL 160

RETROSPECTIVE

VOL 160 / MA Y 2020 THERPSJOURNAL / 335

FORENSIC ART

WAKING THE DEAD From shrunken heads to an ancient Greek warrior, RPSSelwyn Award recipient Tobias Houlton HonFRPS tells Gavin Bell how he visualises faces from the past IMAGES: TOBIAS HOULTON HonFRPS

ABOVE

Griffin Warriorfacial reconstruction

336 / THERPSJOURNAL / MA Y 2020 / VOL 160

HE MAN IS GAZING

impassively at the camera , his slightly Asiatic features and feather earrings indicating ethnic origin in the Amazon rainforest .

The image is remarkably lifelike, given that it was created a century after he was killed in tribal warfare and his head

shrunken as a good luck charm in accordance with ancient rituals . His resurrection was conjured with a mix of fine art, forensic science and software imagery by Dr Tobias Houlton HonFRPS, a British anthropologist with a talent for drawing, sculpture and photography.

It was a world first in such research and led to Houlton being presented with

the RPS Selwyn Award at a ceremony in London last November, recognising successful science-based research through imaging by persons under 35 years of age. 'It was a real treat,' he says of the award in a phone conversation from Johannesburg, where he is a research fellow at the University of the Witwatersrand .

The range of techniques mastered by Houlton is impressive. A graduate of Edinburgh College of Art specialising in sculpture, he studied forensic art and facial anthropology at the University of Dundee before embarking on a career reviving the dead for anthropological research, or for identifying the more recently deceased . And it all began with

a 10-year-old boy gazing in wonder at shrunken heads in museum collections.

'I remember being immediately curious how this happened, and what the persons would have looked like when they were alive,' Houlton recalls.

Now he knows, having examined 65 shrunken heads and met tribes who engaged in the practice in the o VOL 160 / MAY 2020 THERPSJOURNAL / 337

FORENSIC ART

338 / THERPSJOURNAL / MAY 2020 / VOL 160

LEFT

RIGHT

Facial musculature application during a forensic facial reconstruction

Hyper-realistic facial reconstruction ecorche

OBLOW

Reconstructing the face of a shrunken head, or tsantsa

With a shrunkenhead you are workingpurelywithsoft tissue ratherthana skull' o Amazonian jungles of Ecuador and

Peru until the 1930s. He also has a good idea what a Mycenaean soldier who fought in the Trojan Wars of ancient Greece looked like, having created a detailed image from a fractured skull discovered in an olive grove.

When I suggest that in his anthropological research he is like a time-travelling magician, flitting into the past to return with living images of long-dead heroes , he laughingly agrees .

So how does he do it?

'Facial reconstruction is a fascinating practice,' he says. 'My training emphasised artistic ability as a foundation , and the forensic science was something that could be quickly learned , so I'd say the biggest skills are the ability to sculpt and draw, and to take a good photograph .

'With a shrunken head the biggest challenge is that you are working purely with soft tissue rather than a skull, so you're mostly looking at what is available on the skin. You can see from the lips the general shape of the mouth, for example .'

Much cranial information had been lost in the shrinkage process , so Houlton set about creating an average face with anthropological measurements of Peruvian skulls and photographs taken in the 1900s of warriors of the Shuar culture, regarded as the most fearsome of the head shrinkers.

'The measurements gave me the average proportions of a skull as an outline , and I created an average face template by merging more than a dozen photographs with a software program called FantaMorph .

'In theory you only need a minimum of six facial photos to produce a fairly good average . This offered a basic outline with the facial proportions you would expect originating from that part of the Amazon.'

The next step was to take 3D scans of the shrunken head to reconstruct it to the average template, then texturing it with an animation program to add skin complexion and Photoshop for the hair .

Houlton's work has made it possible to distinguish between heads shrunken for ceremonial reasons, and those shrunken by grave robbers for profit.

'The Shuar believed they had enslaved the deceased person's spirit within the head that would function as a talisman , but that good luck energy was seen to last only for a certain length of time. Once that was seen to dwindle, o VOL 160 / MA Y 2020 THERPSJOURNAL / 339

FORENSIC ART

o the head was not valuable any more and they weren 't interested in holding on to it as a keepsake .

'When Europeans became interested in these heads and started offering all sorts of goods for them , the head shrinkers thought this is a given, we were just going to throw these things away. That was the beginning of the commercial trade .'

Since his discovery Houlton has been approached by private collectors to determine whether their specimens were shrunken for ceremonial reasons or for cash .

'Every single time it's been commercial in quite an obvious way.

Unfortunately many of the collection pieces that are available today are commercial, and they are still being produced by Amazonian people for the tourist trade.

'It has become quite a messy history, with people outside indigenous cultures that practised head shrinking creating a more ruthless reputation for those communities than they deserved.

They're proud warriors, but they were not just crazily killing everyone for these things .'

3'0 / THERPSJOURNAL / MAY 2020 / VOL 160

'I thoughtthe best place I couldget decent Greek portraitimageswas its

nationalfootballteam' A highlight of Houlton's career to date has been presenting Ancient Mysteries : Shrunken Heads, a documentary broadcast on Channel 5 which involved visiting a Shuar community in Ecuador .

He admits he was terrified at first, not by their fearsome reputation , but by the stereotype of European anthropologists and the trouble they have caused indigenous cultures in the past.

'I thought this might still be a problem, but I had a really lovely time meeting them and hearing about their history and culture from their perspective,' he says. 'That interaction I'll treasure for ever more .'

Another high-profile case Houlton helped bring to life was the 'Griffin Warrior '. There was excitement across the globe when the warrior's remains , buried some 3,500 years ago in the age of Odysseus and the Iliad, were discovered near a Mycenaean palace .

If the portrait created by Houlton resembles a modern-day Greek footballer . there is good reason for that .

He had only fragments of skull to work with and relied on other sources to complete the picture .

'This warrior was believed to be in his late 20s or early 30s, and I thought maybe the best place I could get decent Greek portrait images was its national football team,' he explains. 'Luckily the players were all photographed in the anterior position, which was ideal for generating an average image, and I merged about 20 of them. The end visual result was something I was most satisfied with .'

Using the skull as a foundation, and 3D software to superimpose the average template, Houlton produced the image of a broad , determined face with close-set eyes and prominent jaw, later adding shoulder length hair in the fashion of the time.

Now back from his time travels, Houlton is helping a South African police team with facial reconstruction of skeletal remains that have no available DNA,fingerprint or dental records .

LEFT

ABOVE

Step-by-step reconstruction of the ancient Greek Griffin Warrior's skull and face

Textured Griffin Warrior facial reconstruction

'The firstday the police had a call saying there were 20 bodiesneeding facialreconstruction after a taxi busaccident'

'Unfortunately in South Africa there is a high incidence of people found deceased with nothing on them to start working out who they are or where they're from. The first day I worked with the police they had a call saying there were 20 bodies needing facial reconstruction after a taxi bus accident.'

Houlton also volunteers at a forensic mortuary in Johannesburg, helping to identify people deceased for at least three months .

Tm seeing a need to try and soften the blow for people coming to do identifications,' he says . 'With post mortem depiction you don 't change the features of the face, but you can clean up any damage to the face that could

cause distress and interfere with identification . In the West the depiction is done as if the person is alive, but I've heard people saying it might be better to make them look as if they 're sleeping.'

What next? More time travel apparently . 'I'd like to look at humans pre -homo sapiens . I've always been curious to interact with a palaeontologist to see what a reconstruction of a truly ancient face would look like, and to work with a different physiology, even going as far as dinosaur reconstruction, something that's quite out there .'

To find out more about Tobias Houlton's work on the Griffin Warrior visit griffinwarrior .org VOL 160 / MAY 2020 THERPSJOURNAL / 341

DOCUMENTARY

'Salifa and friends' from the series Burgess Park 342 / THERPSJOURNAL / MAY 2020 / VOL 160

'Shantelle' from the series Burgess Park

Musician-turned-photographer Max Miechowski tells Jennifer Constable about the inspiration for an award-winning series celebrating life before the pandemic VOL 160 / MA Y 2020 THERPSJOURNAL / 343

'Funfair' from the series BurgessPark

TIS A FEW WEEKSBEFORETHE

coronavirus pandemic takes hold and the UKgovernment places the nation in police -enforced lockdown . Cafes, bars and schools are still to empty out , and fleets of aircraft are yet to be grounded as Britain , like so many other nations across the globe, grapples with the unfolding crisis.

The image of Britain in lockdown still belongs to dystopian science fiction . For now, Max Miechowski is able to catch a train north to his hometown of Lincoln without a second thought. Before he does that, leaving his adopted city of London behind , he has made time to 34-4/ THERPSJOURNAL / MA Y 2020 / VOL 160

chat about the photography series that earned him the Best Portfolio Award at Offspring Photo Meet festival in 2019.

It is lunchtime, and from the window of the cafe right next to the Piccadilly underground you can watch passersby dart back and forth, running for their train or nipping into nearby shops on their break. It is a good spot for people watching, a pastime Miechowski is all too familiar with . Although now an established photographer , his musical roots are apparent - he still looks very much like the musician and music tutor he once was as he leans on his table nursing a black coffee .

Miechowski got his first camera when he was 25. Five years on, having moved to London, the 30-year-old is immersed in the world of image-making.

His photographs of everyday people in seemingly ordinary settings have garnered him a following, as well as the Best Portfolio award , supported by the RPS, for his series Burgess Park.

'It was through my interest in music I got a camera to do music videos and take pictures , of both my own and my friends' bands,' says Miechowski.

His passion for taking photographs only increased when he embarked on a backpacking trip in south east Asia.

DOCUMENTARY

'Ebba and Eddie' from the series Burgess Park

'I fell in lovewith photographyin a seriousway,to the pointwhere I made the decision I didn'twant to be a musicianany more'

Inspired by the photography showcased in National Geographic, Miechowski began a daily ritual of getting up early to capture the light or to seek out vibrant locations .

After four months , he cut his trip short and used the leftover money he had saved to upgrade his camera and buy him some time so he could hone his craft.

'In that short time I fell in love with photography in a serious way, to the point where I made the decision I didn 't want to be a musician any more,' he says . 'I wanted to be a professional photographer. All in those few months .'

Miechowski enrolled in a BA Photography course at the then Leeds College of Art, maxing out on student loans so he could focus on improving his skills. With no formal photography qualifications behind him, he found the skills that he had used as a musician were easily transferable .

'I'd learnt a lot in those ten years of being a musician, like how to practise and incorporate what inspires you,' he says. 'When I was 15and wanted to be a rock star , I had all these grand ideas , but when you're that age it's hard to know what to do with that inspiration .' o VOL 160 / MAY 2020 THERPSJOURNAL / 345

DOCUMENTARY

'Thiswork has acquired new resonancein the lightof the globalpandemic'

o During the first year of his course, Miechowski embarked on his debut project - planning and developing a photobook. Having moved to Leeds to study, he decided to make his new street, Cemetery Road, and its inhabitants the focus of his project.

'Eleni' from the series Burgess Park 346 / THERPSJOURNAL / MAY 2020 I VOL 160

'I knew I wanted it to be about portraits and for it to be a simple concept,' he says . 'Eventually the idea I came up with was to make an active effort to engage with and get to know as many of my neighbours there as I could throughout the year.'

'Salsa' from the series Burgess Park

'I photographed everyone the same way, with a flash, flat light and full length, sometimes sitting, sometimes standing up. I took the photographs in sequential order of the house numbers on the road and when it got to my door , number 65, the project also became about me engaging with the street and the people on it.'

After moving to London in 2017for work, he considered adopting the same approach to his new surroundings .

While he found his new neighbours reasonably receptive, the concept itself felt stale and repetitive . Struggling to find a fresh angle, Miechowski began exploring the London borough of Shoreditch with a medium format film camera in hand, photographing people he encountered. The results were encouraging .

'People were surprisingly responsive to it,' he says . 'They wanted to talk and engage. Honestly, I had to do a little bit of a sell explaining that I'm not a total weirdo and that there was some artistic

nature to this . You could see them figuring me out , but the majority of people I approached did want to be photographed.'

During one of these walks, in the sweltering London summer of 2018, Miechowski stumbled on the inspiration for his next project , the award-winning Burgess Park . Observing the diverse and culturally vibrant melting pot that was a public park in south east London, Miechowski saw his chance to make portraits representing the sense of community the space embodied .

'There were a lot of people from different walks of life, different backgrounds , different cultures , different ethnicities coming together in something that seems very normal and very commonplace ,' he says.

'They were having barbecues together , dancing together, playing sports together ... for me this body of work takes something simple and relatable, like hanging out in a park, and uses it to celebrate multicultural societies .'

As we catch up again before the Journal goes to press , the UK is four weeks into lockdown and Burgess Park

has taken on a whole new poignancy.

'Originally intended as a subtle riposte to the increasingly polarised political rhetoric surrounding national identity, this work has acquired new resonance in light of the global pandemic and the requirement of social distancing,' reflects Miechowski. 'As we are forced to re-evaluate our physical relationship to the people around us, we realise our interdependence is fundamental to the human experience and , although often taken for granted , forms the backbone of our lives.

'This period of uncertainty will create new ways of looking at the world, in the UK and further afield, encouraging all of us to reconsider our roles as members of a global community.'

Visit photomeet .org and find Max Miechowski on lnstagram @Miechowski VOL 160 / MA Y 2020 THERPSJOURNAL / 347

~RPS ROYAL PHOTOGRAPHIC SOCIETY

Coronavirus Our po sition on the COVID-19 outbrea k

Updates regarding the Coronavirus outbreak last update d 17th March at 16:25, (Please click here to scroll down to a list of events that ~u,ve been affected in respon se to Coronaviru s risk.)

The RPS is conscious of the developments surround ing the COVID¡ 19 coronavirus outbreak and our duty of care to staff, volunteers, Members and the public.

Followil'l9 the ne w recommendations

made by the Prime Minister on

16th March, we are now undertaking significant steps to look aft e r the well beiog of e veryone we work with and society as a whole :

â&#x20AC;˘ Our Bristol gallery is dosed until further notice. We anticipate this willbe until mid-April at the very least and willkeep th e

Appreciating the small things The RPSgets creative during the UK lockdown INUGHT OF THE

Covid-19public health measures, RPS groups will be running online events encouraging members to brush up on their photography skills from the comfort of their own homes .

On 29 May, the Society

â&#x20AC;˘

will host an online workshop on macro photography .

Led by Nigel Wilson, it will introduce photographers to the magical world of close-up imagery.

A professional photographer and tutor whose clients include the BBC,Sky and

The Sunday

Times,Wilson has taught at institutions including New York University, Photofusion and London's famous Camera Club. He lectures at the

Victoria & Albert Museum and teaches portrait photography for the RPS. Details of the macro workshop, and other RPS online events, can be found on the RPS website .

VOL 160 / MAY 2020 / THERPSJOURNAL / 349

be sent out 24 hours before the meeting to those registered on this website.

Judy Hicks, as above WESTERN Suzanne Johnson LRPS

westem@rps .org

My photographicjourney started on Mount Everest: an online talk by Ken Skehan Sun 10 May, 10.30·11am

Western Region members competition

Tue26 May,7.30-9pm

Joining instructions/links will be sent out 24 hours before the meeting to those registered on this website.

Judy Hicks, as above

A sunsetfrom Devonportonthe northcoastof Tasmaniaby KenSkehan.Ken isorganising a photography

North London onllne meeting Mon 8 Jun, 7.30-9pm

competition for Western Region members

REGIONS LONDON Judy Hicks,

on68923620

David Hicks, 07917 302747 1ondonro2@rps.org

North London online meeting Mon 11May,7-9pm Joining instructions/links will be sent out 24 hours before the meeting to those registered on this website .

Judy Hicks, as above

South West London onllne meeting Tue12 May,7-9pm Joining instructions/links will be sent out 24 hours before the meeting to those registered on this website .

Judy Hicks, as above

LondonBookworms May online meeting Wed 20 May,7.30-9pm Joining instructions/links willbe sent out 24 hours before the meeting to those who have registered .

Jenny, bookworms@rps .org

South East London online meeting

Joining instructions/links will be sent out 24 hours before the meeting to those registered on this website.

Judy Hicks, as above

To maintain focus (pun very much intended) on our photography during this period of enforced isolation, we are introducing a Western Region members monthly competition .

Submit a favourite image each month that could see you win prizes of a fabulous hardback photography book and an Amazon voucher . westerncompetitions@rps .org

some of the most influential and game-changing photographers. including Edward Weston, Arnold Newman, Henri CartierBresson, Joel Meyerowitz and Martin Parr. You will also be shooting a lockdown-friendly project which we will review in the online class.

Getting to Know your Camera with Nigel Wilson Tue5 May,10am-4.30pm £75/£56

SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS LANDSCAPE Richard Ellis

Joining instructions/links will be sent out 24 hours before the meeting to those registered on this website .

Judy Hicks, as above

Different approaches to processing landscapes Mon 4 and Tue 5 May,

landscape@rps .org

10·12am Mark Reeves, 07968616551, rps.landscape.events@gmail. com

Processinglandscape images with Lightroom and Photoshop

Joining instructions/links will be sent out 24 hours before the meeting to those registered on this website .

Judy Hicks, as above

Masters of Photography with Nigel Wilson Fri1 May,10am-4.30pm £75/£56 We willexplore the work of

This award-winning one-day workshop will transform the quality of your photographs .

By the end of the session, you will be ready to make photographs rather than simply take them .

South West London onllne meeting Tue 9 Jun,7-9pm

LondonBookworms Juneonline meeting Wed 17Jun,6.30-9pm

SOCIETY ONLINE WORKSHOPS

Thu14May, 10-12am and 1-3pm Mark Reeves, as above

South East London online meeting

How to be a road warrior with Lightroom

Tue 23 Jun, 7.30-9pm Joining instructions/links will

Tue 19 May, 10am-1pm Mark Reeves, as above

Abstract Photography with Nigel Wilson Fri15 May,10am-4.30pm £75/£56 We will examine in detail the work of leading abstract photographers .

Inspired by these giants of the genre, you will then experiment with abstraction, which we will review in the class.

Macro Photography with Nigel Wilson Fri29May, 10am-4.30pm £75/£56 The magical world of closeup macro photography with Nigel Wilson. On this one-day course, you will learn how to use your camera and lens to produce stunning images.

A packed day of learning.

ONLINE CHAPTER EVENTS

FOR SOCIETY MEMBERS AROUND THE WORLD

BENELUX

Tues5 May,7.30-9pm

Janet Haines ARPS, Didier Verriest ARPS, Benelux@rps.org

Janet Haines, as above

Beneluxonllne study group

Tues 19 May, 7.30-9pm Janet Haines, as above

Beneluxonllne study group

350 / THERPSJOURNAL / MAY 2020 / VOL 160

Beneluxonline study group

Beneluxonline study group

Tues2Jun, 7.30-9pm Janet Haines, as above

Tues16Jun, 7.30-9pm Janet Haines, as above

Beneluxonline study group Tues30 Jun,7.30-9pm Janet Haines, as above rps.org/chapters/ benelux/events

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352 / THERPSJOURNAL / MA Y 2020 / VOL 160

START YOUR JOURNEY What are RPS Distinctions?

Distinctions offer a fantastic opportunity for photographers to improve their own skills and develop an understanding of photography by applying for one of the three levels available

Licentiate (LRPS) Applicants must show photographic competence in approach and techniques

Associate (ARPS) Requires a body of work of a high standard and a written statement of intent

Fellowship (FRPS) Requires a body of work of distinguished ability and excellence, and a written statement of intent

V OL 160 / MA Y 2020 / THERPSJOURNAL / 353

FRPS fineart HAVE BEEN INSPIRED

and fascinated by the work of Karl Blossfeldt, a German photographer and artist who worked in Berlin in the late 19th to early 20th century . He is quoted as saying: 'The plant must be valued as a totally artistic and architectural structure ', and the subjects of some of his well-known masterpieces are nothing more than common thorns and twigs.

My 'A' panel was based on stilllife images shot in the studio, and I always knew that my 'F' panel would also be based on studio work - it was just a question of choosing the right project out of several that I was developing . Past Perfectwas one of my long-time favourites and, in the end, it was a simple decision - but then I had to fine-tune it into a portfolio worthy of the Fellowship.

The main challenge was having a sufficient variety of images .

Getting the highest quality prints was equally important.

I treat flowers much the way that portrait photographers treat their models. There are some differences of course - it is tricky to persuade a flower to strike a pose that you need . On the other hand , flowers don't have to check their Instagram accounts all the time, they don't talk back to you in the studio and they don 't fidget ...well, most of the time .

I rarely photograph flower arrangements or groups of flowers. My preference is to focus on an individual flower - much like a portrait photographer who has a session working exclusively with a model that inspires them.

Studying your model, trying to understand its unique features , creating a mood based on this uniqueness - all that is something I have in common with a portrait photographer.

'Flowers don't have to check their lnstagram accounts all the time'

It is so easy to get excited by an exotic flower in full bloom. But think of human models: someone of advanced age, with all the weight of the years on their shoulders , with all their losses and their wisdom , could make an excellent model for a portrait photographer. Decayed flowers are fascinating subjects for flower photography in much the same way. When they are past their prime , when vibrant colours and beautiful shapes are gone, all you are left with is the essence of their being - intricate fragile

354 / THERPSJOURNAL / MAY 2020 / VOL 160

POI.INA PLOTNIKOVA

stems, skeletal petals , something very graphical, very architectural - which I absolutely love to search for and to capture .

When it comes to photographing people, some photographers prefer the hustle and bustle of street life and try to find and capture an amazing passing moment - while others work in a studio , where they are fully in control and can create their own story and capture their own vision. It is much the same with flower photography. I am inspired by nature and can

DISTINCTIONS

I

\

~~ \ J, :

~

-

: .

"

spend hours with my camera in the garden among beautiful blooms, but for me that's akin to creating sketches - the real painting starts when I have my model in a studio, where I am in full control of light, composition and all other aspects of the image. Nothing happens unless I create it myself.

What next? I have a few ongoing, studio-based projects, and am also looking forward to being a selector for the Royal Horticultural Society annual photography competition .

STATEMENT OF INTENT The approach to flower photography I take is similar to that of a portrait photographer - for every flower I photograph, I try to find its unique look, study its mood and character, discover something hidden or not necessarily obvious at first sight.

Withered flowers seldom get that kind of attention .

Time is indeed ruthless in cutting down and destroying beauty - but an ageing plant can reveal a delicate, poignant and often unexpected charm .

The images for the portfolio that I am presenting are drawn from my Past Perfect project. I have been working on it for a

number of years, endlessly experimenting with different ways of preserving, lighting and photographing my graceful but extremely fragile models, all of them fading away, but each one still offering, to a receptive observer, a glimpse of its unique, ethereal, timeless beauty.

VOL 160 / MAY 2020 / THERPSJOURNAL / 355

ARPS fineart

SARAH TOWNLEY

HEPHOTOGRAPHYthe season . Cameras today are incredibly advanced and it is society to which I belong is keen easier than ever to get a good image. If it is not perfect then on its members getting a Distinction there is software to improve it. and provides I wanted to get off this treadmill for a bit and try something several evenings different but pleasing to my eye. during the season to help those trying for an LRPS. They have I had been reading articles about early photographic excellent advisors and their methods and wanted to success rate is high. experiment . I started to I was pleased to get my LRPS investigate the cyanotype with their help . An ARPSwas process as it appeared doable the next step. But finding the subject? I was searching for at home with the minimum amount of equipment . something unusual, as I expect The process itself is simple many of us are . I entered a and instructions are online. You portfolio in November 2018 mix a couple of chemicals, paint not of cyanotypes - and was told by one of the assessors this on watercolour paper or material and let it dry in the that they didn't understand it.

I failed , so I gave up . dark - the media is now UV light sensitive . You then either place Winchester Photographic a negative or an object on top of Society is an amazing club with the paper before exposing it to a membership of more than 200. You can imagine the huge the sun. After washing off the range of subjects and the chemical you are left with an wonderful quality of the prints image in Prussian blue and presented in the many white. I started using digital competitions held throughout negatives printed on OHPpaper

BELOW

'Celestial spheres'

356 / THERPSJOURNAL / MAY 2020 / VOL 160

'I started to investigate the cyanotype process as it appeared doable at home' and these were very successful - remarkably detailed . After washing I would sometimes soak the watercolour paper in tea or coffee to obtain a sepia print.

I began to experiment by using silk and cotton as well as watercolour paper . I placed on them anything suitable I could find from the garden . Some greenery worked better than others, although the variables were enormous. The main problem was the sun, or lack of it. I had no idea how long to keep the material in the sun , and sometimes I left my work outside for a couple of days in all weathers . Serendipity played a huge part. I tried adding all sorts of things to make them

DISTINCTIONS

different by scattering on salt and turmeric , or spraying vinegar, to give variations to the colour. My greatest success was using sliced limes as these increased the colour intensity of the turmeric .

I even tried soap bubbles , with mixed results, but it all made for an exciting time trying to find that extra something .

Occasionally, if I wasn 't happy with one, I would redo it on the reverse side and this would give me a multiple exposure, quite unexpectedly . I also varnished a few to give a lustre effect.

Experimentation led to all sorts of interesting results.

These cyanotypes are correctly known as photograms and , of course, cannot be repeated each is an original.

I mounted a few of them and it was surprising how good they looked framed. When I realised I had enough for a panel I asked a club member, who is an FRPS, whether they would be suitable for an ARPS submission since no ABOVE

'Cyanotype on silk'

BELOW

'Cut leaf elder'

VOL 160 / MAY 2020 / THERPSJOURNAL / 357

DISTINCTIONS

ABOVE

lll!LOW

'Fruit, foliage and turmeric'

camera was involved. He assured me that a cyanotype is a photographic process.

I had to photograph each one for the hanging plan .

My submission consisted of photograms on silk, cotton from torn sheets, and paper . I was pretty convinced they would not be accepted, so did not go down to the assessment . I wish I had now, but was overjoyed to receive the email confirming I had reached the standard .

I would like to stress that anything you enjoy you seem to do better. So try to do an ARPS in the genre you love it is so much easier that way.

Well, what next? I suppose it is an FRPS, though I fear that may be a while coming - it seems a huge leap. Everyone needs something to aspire to.

In the meantime, I shall carry on enjoying photography and although I may not reach the giddy heights of an FRPS, it will be fun trying . I might even use a camera this time.

If nothing else, a cyanotype is good judge bait .

358 / THERPSJOURNAL / MA Y 2020 / VOL 160

'Cyanotype on cotton'

STATEMENT OF INTENT I used cyanotype chemicals to make paper or material light sensitive. After placing leaves or flowers on this, it was put in the sun for 20 minutes to two days, depending on what UV

light was available. It was taken indoors, and washed and dried, with the final result revealing itself in 24 hours.

To change the colour palette I added lemon juice,

salt, turmeric and even vinegar to the paper and chemicals . There was no careful deploying of these .

I just did it as the whim took me and waited for serendipity to work.

ABOVE

'Hellebore leaf, turmeric and lime'

BELOW

'Mixed seed heads'

VOL 160 / MAY 2020 / THERPSJOURNAL / 359

THE COLLECTION

A radical â&#x20AC;˘ view The RossEnsign Ful-VueSuper camera is a design classic, writes Dan Cox MADEBY ONEOF Britain's most successful camera manufacturers , the Ross Ensign Ful-Vue Super was the final model in the highly regarded Ful-Vue series .

First manufactured in 1939,

by Ensign (originally Claudet &Houghton , established in 1834),the Ful-Vue had further updates coinciding with the evolution of the company itself, following several mergers between 1945 and 1954.

Regarded as a design classic to this day , the most striking feature of the Ful-Vue, or full view, series is the extremely large and bright waist-level viewfinder . Using a twin lens reflex design , this viewfinder gave, according to Ensign , 'a better idea than ever before of what the finished result is likely to be '. The viewfinder was especially important in promoting the camera for amateur use, and was further complemented by the fact that the mirror aspect of the viewfinder was made with

.,

The innovativedesign of the Ful-Vue Super proved popular with amateur photographers

polished metal rather than glass , resulting in a very robust piece of equipment.

The Ful-Vue Super pictured here, made in 1954, was the third iteration of a design

IN THIS YEAR1954 Oprah Winfrey in A Wrinkle in Time (2018)

360 / THERPSJOURNAL / MAY 2020 / VOL 160

which was first introduced in 1946.

Moving radically away from the usual box camera design, the company utilised many of

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The American talk show host and actress Oprah Winfrey is born in Kosciusko, Mississippi, on 29 January.

The first colour television sets for consumers are manufactured by RCA on 25 March, retailing at $1,000 .

The BBC broadcasts its first television news bulletin on 5 July, with newsreaders Richard Baker and John Snagge .

The novel Lord of the Flies by William Golding is published by Faber and Faber in London on 17 September .

the principles in Harold Van Doren 's book, Industrial Design : A Practical Guide (1940). Inside the company , some were worried that the radical design would make the camera difficult to sell, but those fears proved unfounded as the public enthusiastically embraced the design , and the camera sold in the thousands .

This new design was even featured in the 1946 V&A exhibition Britain Can Make It, highlighting new and futuristic products being built by British manufacturers of the period .

Dan Cox is a project cataloguer at the V&A

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